Birth Dates
by NeoNails
Summary: Oneshot. 'I went by Sue once, and then Gwen. Now I go by Beth. I can't let people call me Gwen anymore. That name is tainted.' What happens after you become a reformed villain?


This has been sitting around on my computer, finished, for some time, but I haven't actually gotten around to posting it until today, to celebrate finally putting _The Aftereffect _to bed. I figured that it was worthy of celebrating, so I'm sharing one of the _several_ completed oneshots I've lying around my hard drive. If I keep working hard, you'll keep seeing more of these oneshots. ;D

I make music videos for fun. I even have an account set up for them, under the same name as my one here for , on YouTube. I haven't updated in quite some time, but I still do make music videos. I'm neurotic when it comes to anything involving art- I swear to God, I'll dabble in just about anything that incorporates the arts- drawing, computer graphics (hey, it's its own art), writing (obviously XD)- and when I get bored, I'll bounce from one art subject to the next.

This affinity I have does relate back to my story. A while back, I made a music video for this song. I completed the video, too, but I was just watching it again and I decided that I needed to write a oneshot or drabble or something that incorporated this song. And it's amazing, 'cuz _damn_ does it fit. :D

I know no one is a particular fan of Gwen/Will, but in a way, I kinda do like the couple. In a weird, twisted, convoluted way, which about half the reason why I like most of my favorite couples. Yeah, I'm messed up. If I wasn't, ya'll wouldn't have 35 (well, 36 now) published stories to read.

$4$

_Found a lame excuse to call you  
__Just to hear you on the phone  
__Talks a million miles an hour  
__Pretendin' we were all alone_

- "It Sucks," by Skye Sweetnam

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* * *

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I've dated Will Stronghold.

Doesn't sound like a big deal, really. I mean, Will Stronghold? Who the hell gives a damn?

Will Stronghold isn't important unless you know the real Will Stronghold. The real Will Stronghold is the youngest member, the son, of the Stronghold Three. Yeah, _those_ Stronghold Three. The ones that are purported to rival the Justice League in number of villains taken down?

Yeah. Them.

In order to understand that, you've gotta understand who I am.

Once upon a time, my name was Susan Elizabeth Tenny. Everyone called me Sue. Not much time after that, my name is Gwyneth Bethany Grayson. Everyone called me Gwen. Now, my name is Beth Grayson. I can't let people call me Gwen anymore.

The name is tainted.

I've dated Will Stronghold as Gwen Grayson. Everyone who knows who Sue Tenny/Gwen Grayson is knows who Royal Pain is, and vice versa. And everyone who knows all of that knows what I did to Will Stronghold, the rest of his sidekicks, and all of Sky High.

And to everyone that knows, this has been all over for almost twenty-four years.

I've dated Will Stronghold.

But I haven't dated Will Stronghold in almost twenty-four years.

But that doesn't mean I haven't seen Will Stronghold in almost twenty-four years.

After my incarceration spent in Maxville Correctional Facility for Super-Women, I had nothing. But I didn't have much else when I was transformed from Sue Tenny, the villain, into Sue Tenny, the baby.

So I became a waitress. Nothing special, working at the local diner. It was a known stop for Supers, but I didn't have anywhere else to work. For the most part, they were out of town Supers. Only very rarely did I see someone that went to Sky High, but they never recognized me. And why would they? I dyed my hair sandy blonde, started wearing glasses again, and put on about ten pounds.

The pink waitress uniform didn't help.

He was the first one to recognize me.

He didn't change much in ten years. Same brown hair, a little shorter now. He grew easily half a foot, so I was no longer looking down on him. He filled out, too- muscular, broad. Same handsome, boy-next-door as always.

Will Stronghold married Layla Williams on June 10, 2014. They had their first child on September 14, 2016, a baby boy, Steven William Stronghold. Everyone will call him Steve.

Like his grandfather.

I dated Will Stronghold once, a lifetime ago.

I haven't dated him since.

That didn't mean I stopped seeing him.

Adultery is a tricky thing. You can't very well expect to get married. It almost never works out that way. The cheater almost never wants to give up what he already has going for him.

And Will Stronghold has a lot going for him.

That didn't stop him from talking to me. He said he checked up on me, after I was released from prison. He wanted to make sure I was no longer a threat to society. And to check that I was okay.

I never meant to sleep with him.

I don't think he ever meant to sleep with me, either. It didn't last long. A year. A year and a month. A year, a month, and twelve days. Four hundred and seven days.

It wasn't long enough to count, and certainly not long enough for me to ever think he might leave me for Layla.

Oddly enough, I had- and still have- no beef with Layla. A lifetime ago, when I was still Gwen/Sue, I wanted to make Layla miserable, just for fun. So I toyed with her crush- Will Stronghold. It killed two birds with one stone- it made it easier for me to get into his parents' Secret Sanctum, _and_ I got to make the perfect little tree-hugger cry. I was kind of a bitch back then.

I guess I still am.

I didn't hate Layla anymore, but I still slept with her husband. I'm not perfect- of all the people on this planet, I should know that the best.

And I do. I didn't want to sleep with Will Stronghold- it just happened.

Maybe that wasn't the entire truth. I must've wanted to sleep with Will Stronghold- otherwise, it never would've happened. I guess that means he must've wanted it, too.

I never wanted to hurt anyone, that much is for sure. Not anymore. I've been done hurting people for a long time. It's just too much effort.

I slept with Will Stronghold.

Not dated, not anymore.

I'm over relationships, and I'm over being the Other Woman. I'm a waitress, and I'm good at that. That's good enough for me. I can't ask for much else.

I had my first and last child on July 1, 2016, a baby girl, Josephine Elizabeth Grayson. Everyone will call her Josie.

Like her grandmother.

$4$

This went basically the exact way I had it planned out in my head. I don't know if it flowed as well as I hoped, but I do like it, and I do like how I tied everything together. And that's good enough for me. :)

It was probably glaringly obvious how this would go, but I told you guys, I love writing Will/Gwen. Especially Guilty/Reformed!Gwen. Of all of them, I think I do Guilty!Gwen the best. And she's not even my favorite. XD


End file.
